Doctor treats four generations of same family

Four generations of women from one family have been cared for by the same specialist over more than 30 years.

The family from the Medway towns, Kent, have all received care from Professor Kypros Nicolaides, a fetal medicine expert at King's College Hospital in London.

The care they have received included pioneering amniocentesis testing in the 1970s, in-utero surgery and issues with bleeding and low amniotic fluid.

Rhea Eldridge said: "Professor Kypros Nicolaides has been here for my nan, my mother, and now me and little Isabella."

Care for the four women began in the late 1970s, when Prof Nicolaides, carried out an amniocentesis test at King’s College Hospital on Rose Bill to check if her unborn baby might have Down’s syndrome which was a ground-breaking innovation in fetal medicine at the time.

Rose’s baby, named Amanda, was born with no medical problems, but 18 years later, Amanda’s older sister, Michelle Lockyer, and Professor Kypros Nicolaides met for the first time when Michelle was pregnant with her second child.

Ms Eldridge explained: "My mum had some issues in her pregnancy with my brother, including bleeding and low amniotic fluid, so she was sent for a scan with Professor Nicolaides at King’s.

"He reassured her that Jake was healthy, and he was born with no complications.”

When Rhea became pregnant with her daughter, Isabella, she received the news at her 20 week scan that her baby had been diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a rare condition affecting babies before birth.

Rhea said: "I will never forget the moment I found out our little baby had a hole in her diaphragm, and had a 15% chance of survival.

"Professor Kypros Nicolaides came into my family’s life again, this time offering to perform in-utero surgery to help my daughter.”

Professor Kypros Nicolaides said: "It is a privilege to have been able to care for Rose, Michelle, Rhea and little Isabella, and to have played a part in their wonderful family.

"Throughout my career, I have worked to make sure we bring forward pioneering advancements in care so that families have the best possible treatment for their babies."

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